Randoms Lately

Miles had a pretty bad cough for about a week, so on the first day that he was better, I took the kids to Grounds for Hope. Turns out it was an institute day and there were a bunch of big kids off of school and dominating the play area. The kids still managed to have a good time. They even played together for a bit!

Brooke and Miles continue to be (generally) really great older siblings to Paige. They like to read to her and get her toys.

 

Girl selfie!

I'm not going to get into the details here as it's not my proudest parenting milestone, but Brooke got her first cavities filled a couple of weeks ago. (For the record, she's been to the dentist every six months since she was three and we were brushing with her every day...clearly not enough.) At any rate, she was a trooper and didn't complain once. I think that the ceiling-mounted television and headphones certainly helped.

The thing that most seemed to throw her for a loop was the residual numbness in her mouth. It made it kind of funny to talk to her for the next couple of hours.

Playing dress up. She comes out of rest time with a new outfit literally every day.

That headband is Brooke's. My poor, large-headed baby.

We stopped by the Fun Fair at Aunt Jamie's school.

And Brooke got her hair "dyed" pink. It was the highlight of her weekend. Everywhere we went, she would ask, "Do you think they're going to say they like my hair?"

We went to our buddy Cam's third birthday party. I didn't get any pictures of the big kids, but Kristina got these two chatting it up.

 

Selfies with Aunt Jamie!

It's finally warm enough around here to not be brought to tears when you step outside, so we went to Cosley after school the other day with Kali. Brooke is pretty over that place, but they had fun in the wind tunnel.

At least the girls did. That's Miles covering his head and saying, "Too loud!"

February, Continued

Another couple weeks of winter under our belts means another couple weeks of random ways to kill time. Somehow having these chairs made watching television a little more fun. Brooke asked me to take the picture below. We had gone to Target (of course) and she got to pick out a small toy as a reward for making a good choice a couple of weeks before. She chose the little white dog for Isabelle. She was sooo excited to "tell" Isabelle what she'd gotten her when we got home. That same trip, Brooke brought her own money ($1 of which she'd earned from my bribing her to watch a movie in St. Louis) and picked something from the dollar section. She chose the Frozen coloring sheet. And it was marked down to $.30! I'm not sure who was more excited: me, because of how much she'd saved, or her, because she got 4 coins back as change from the 2 quarters she gave the cashier. On the way home she said, "I can't believe that something so big cost such little monies!"

We got to see Grandma Audie again yesterday, and Miles was being a pill when we wanted to take a picture.

So I cropped him out. That'll teach him. (Love this picture of her and the girls, btw!)

He acts like a pill, but then he takes a picture like this and makes a card that he's SO proud of for us for Valentine's day, and how can you be mad?

Aunt Jamie got Brooke and Isabelle matching jammies and Brooke has worn them most nights since.

Here are the kids with their Valentine's Day card from Grammie Deb and Grandpa Brian. This was when Miles was sick with the virus that Paige had a few days before. Needless to say, the last couple weeks haven't been the most sleep-filled.

Brooke has moved on to showering, but Paige has graduated from the baby tub. She and Miles are pretty cute in there together.

Brooke's friend, Olivia, was in a performance of "Shrek" last weekend and we were both excited to see her. The show was great! I kind of hope Brooke wants to do something like this in the future.

Zach and Katie came with us and the two of them were cute and funny, as always.

Have a great last week of February!

Paige is 10 Months!

Paige was ten months old last Thursday. She remains our most easy-going baby. Except that she still wakes up once or twice per night. At some point she's going to have to cry it out, but I haven't reached my limit yet, so she still gets attention when she cries.

She's eating three solid meals a day and also enjoys cheerios and puffs. She's almost exclusively on formula now (3, 6-or-8 ounce bottles). She'll nurse once or twice a day/night, depending on our schedule, but our days are numbered for that. I have mixed feelings about being done. I'm looking forward to the freedom, but sad for the chapter that will be closing. Welcome to motherhood, right?

She's still mermaid-kicking on her back or sometimes rolling to get around on the floor, but generally she's pretty content to stay where she's left. She's become a bit more of a mama's girl and we're seeing some stranger anxiety when dropping her in the nursery at church. She's said "Dada" when looking at Matt, although that's not 100% consistent. She's also clapping and waving inconsistently. She loves babies...and boys, apparently. Here she is with her buddy(/future husband?) Hudson. She was all over him.

She also loves her Lukey. These two are sweet to watch together.

She takes a minute or two to warm up, and tends to look people over before offering a smile in approval. My dad has dubbed this the "stink eye." It's pretty fitting. Overall, she's a happy, giggly, cuddly girl and we're so happy she's ours. Happy ten months, Paige!

P.S. I'll try to get some better solo shots of you for your 11 month update.

Aunt Esther

Every time that we went down to St. Louis, we'd make sure to stop by my great-Aunt Esther's to visit, and she'd make sure to have candy (and usually other treats) for the kids. Anytime we were on our way to her apartment, Miles or Brooke would ask, "Will Auntie have candy for us?"

We were thankful to be able to see Auntie one last time before she passed away last week. We're going to miss her immensely but are so thankful that she's no longer in pain and is in a better place.  

(She hated having her picture taken so she'd probably be mad at me for posting this. I'm thankful that I have these memories on record for my kids, though.)

Party at Gigi and Grandpa Charlie's

When they heard we were coming in town, my Grandma and Grandpa said they wanted to have a Valentine's Day party for the kids at their house. And they certainly delivered. They bought some new toys for the kids to play with, as well as feeding them lunch and baking heart-shaped cupcakes for the kids to decorate.

The girls lasted a little longer than the boys at the decorating, but once again, the kids all had a great time.

These sweeties were along for the ride.

After the decorating, Gigi and Grandpa Charlie got their snuggles in with the babies.

They worked their magic and got both babies to sleep. Thanks for the fun morning! We're lucky to have you!